It comes down to understanding the differences between real potential hazards compared with the ultra conservative commercial safety food preparation requirements. I am a food safety supervisor and prepare food products commercially (as do many others on here) and in every case I conform to the letter (USDA / FSA) regarding commercial food preparation and storage. Commercially I would have thrown that piece of pork away.

For home and personal consumption however you can take a more informed approach - and the more you understand about the processes and risks involved the better position you are in to make more informed decisions. Tskar was right to ask the question if he was uncertain and if you are in doubt then yes, it is better to throw it out. However I am with JJ on this - the real risks involved in cooking and eating that piece pork were minimal - far less than would cause me concern eating it. I would also have fed it to my family as I know they are all in good health and none are infants or 85 year old grandmothers.

In my opinion the advice to chuck it out is often given far too quickly, however I do understand the forum position of promoting USDA commercial production guidelines.

Well...IF there posed a Risk to an 85 year old Grandma...I surely would have said, " Toss the Meat. " But I don't need to ask who is eating this meat KNOWING there is no issue here following my instructions. There is a greater risk of Burning the House Down SMOKING this meat than getting Sick eating it!...JJ

It comes down to understanding the differences between real potential hazards compared with the ultra conservative commercial safety food preparation requirements. I am a food safety supervisor and prepare food products commercially (as do many others on here) and in every case I conform to the letter (USDA / FSA) regarding commercial food preparation and storage. Commercially I would have thrown that piece of pork away.

For home and personal consumption however you can take a more informed approach - and the more you understand about the processes and risks involved the better position you are in to make more informed decisions. Tskar was right to ask the question if he was uncertain and if you are in doubt then yes, it is better to throw it out. However I am with JJ on this - the real risks involved in cooking and eating that piece pork were minimal - far less than would cause me concern eating it. I would also have fed it to my family as I know they are all in good health and none are infants or 85 year old grandmothers.

In my opinion the advice to chuck it out is often given far too quickly, however I do understand the forum position of promoting USDA commercial production guidelines.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chef JimmyJ

Well...IF there posed a Risk to an 85 year old Grandma...I surely would have said, " Toss the Meat. " But I don't need to ask who is eating this meat KNOWING there is no issue here. There is a greater risk of Burning the House Down SMOKING this meat than getting Sick eating it!...JJ

Exactly my point, I would have no problem cooking it and eating it but we don't know the posters intent so if it is implied that it should be ok without further questioning were not being thorough enough. What ifs start to pop up, like what if the loin wasnt submerged, was the loin trimmed or cut. Was the cure/brine hot/cold/room temperature. Was it exposed.
Hey, you guys are the experts and know all the technical stuff.
And my post was a "choice" not one sided, but I feel if the person is told yeah it's ok This may make them more comfortable the next time something like this happens.
I'm not arguing because I would not toss it either but I can't in good conscience say yeah it's safe.
And I definitely won't quote statistics like you have a better chance getting stuck by lightning than getting sick from this loin.
To me there is still doubt, so grandma will not be over for dinner.
But seriously guys, I respect everything you guys said, and again not arguing but just letting the poster know it's his decision and to proceed with caution.

I think that's the line you have to take... acknowledge that it's outside of USA guidelines, explain why it may be mitigated, and the potential hazards.

I think everyone gave safety concerns... those are valid; however, there are mitigating circumstances... it's whole muscle so potential it should be limited to surface contamination. The surface was covered in a salty, sugary, and sodium nitrite containing brine. It will be cooked twice before eating which mitigates the vast majority of potential food borne illness and cure and fermented meats are processed quite similarly yet considered safe.

I think saying whether it should or shouldn't be tossed is a judgement case and we can really only say what the usda says and what we would personally do.

I would toss it if it smelled funny and I would be more aware of smells and tastes after its cured and cookedosing and we know what the usda would say from Wade.

When this sort of thing happens at our house and she is too worried to eat it, but it does not seem really bad, we cook it for the dogs. If it passed the smell test before cooking and after then they are happy mutts.

I learned a lot from this discussion. Many thanks to all of you and especially JJ.